Starship CEO Alastair Westgarth joins John Koetsier on NEXT with John Koetsier to discuss the company’s delivery robots, their performance at scale, and how they may reshape city commerce.
Westgarth says Starship has completed 9 million food and grocery deliveries with thousands of robots across European cities and U.S. college campuses. The company began about a decade ago and started commercial service in Milton Keynes in 2018, where deliveries have continued every day since.
Westgarth says the robots travel on sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads, drawing on more than 12 million miles of operation and roughly 200 million road crossings. The fleet encounters varied conditions, including snow in Wisconsin and Finland. He says commercial delivery requires 99.9% reliability.
The robots use cameras, radar, and other sensors, and rely on visual map matching rather than GPS for precise positioning. They can climb curbs and approach building entrances, while automated charging lets them stay outdoors; their batteries can support tens of miles of travel in a day.
Westgarth says residents quickly become comfortable with the robots, and some stop to help them or interact with them. For grocery chains, he reports that adding robot delivery is associated with about a 10% rise in store orders and revenue. Starship also works with Grubhub on college campuses and insulates containers for hot meals.
Westgarth says Starship is not currently using flying drones, but expects delivery to combine different methods and robot designs. People will still handle some deliveries, especially large or heavy items. He says the company is working with major delivery apps and retailers, with U.S. city announcements expected soon.
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